Factors Influencing Socially Responsible Leadership Development in College of Agriculture Students

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine factors impacting college student leadership development within a college of agriculture at the University of Missouri. This study employed descriptive relational survey methods to examine the impact of involvement factors (participation in organizations, community service and leadership education) on college student leadership development. The target population was all junior and senior students in the College of Agricutlure, Food and Natural Resources at the University of Missouri (N=1,124). Out of the calculated sample size (n=287), 107 participants completed the online instrument (37.3%). In the examination of the leadership outcomes, the greatest mean was reported for the outcome of commitment and the lowest mean was reported for the outcome of change. Most students were involved with two to five different organizations during their college career. A majority (92.5%) of the students reported that they have engaged in community service during their college career, although 44.9% of respondents did not participate in community service on a regular basis. Students responded as being involved in one to two short-term leadership education programs, but no long-term leadership education programs. Eight separate linear regression models were analyzed to determine the impact of involvement factors on the development of socially responsible leadership.